Cecilia Wollmann, the young Bermuda sailor, has qualified for this summer’s Pan American Games in Toronto after an impressive performance at the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Miami, Florida, last month.

The 16-year-old punched above her weight in a mature Women’s Laser Radial fleet, finishing 59th among the 79 participants.

Martin Siese, the senior Bermuda Sailing Association executive, praised Wollmann for her performance.

“This regatta was used to determine the last few qualifying spaces that were available for the Pan Am Games and Ceci qualified the country,” he said.

“I can’t see anyone else taking her spot, so she should be participating at those Pan Games in Toronto in the Laser Radial class.”

Wollmann, who attends Saltus Grammar School, posted a best finish of tenth and worst of 34th, which she discarded.

She also performed well at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Mexico last November as well as the Youth Olympics in China last summer.

“Considering her age and basically that she was racing against adults, Bermuda should be proud of what Ceci has achieved,” Siese added.

“It’s a fantastic achievement for her age to have met that qualifying standard.

“She really is a little light to be sailing those boats, but she’s only going to get better as she grows.”

Wollmann has long shown promise having won every competition there is in the developmental Optimist dinghy before progressing to more advanced single handed dinghies like the O’pen BIC, Byte and Laser Radial.

Her ultimate goal is to compete at the Olympic Games, a feat that Siese believes Wollman is capable of achieving.

“She still harbours a hope of qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro,” he said. “She might be still on the young side of that, but we’ll have to see.”

Also flying Bermuda’s flag in Miami last month was top men’s Laser sailor, Cameron Pimentel, who narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Pan Am Games.

Pimentel, who won the Laser title at last year’s Bacardi Bermuda International Invitational Race Week, placed 85th among the 107-strong fleet.

“Cameron was very unfortunate as he missed out by one spot to get the last qualifying spot for the Pan Am Games in the Laser Class,” Siese said.

“He put in a tremendous effort and we are hoping that he might get awarded what’s called a universality spot being as he’s basically the first of the non qualifiers.”